Scorecard

Neil Landsberg

Match Report Clackmannan County first team travelled to Edinburgh to play Grange 3. The already depleated Clackmannan side lost another two players just before leaving for Edinburgh. Young Auranzeb Alangir and twelve year old Dan Smith was given the opportunity to score, on his own account, rather than score for the team.

On a warm sunny Sunday afternoon Clackmannan county first eleven travelled to Grange to play the rearranged match against Grange third eleven. Clackmannan's captain won the toss and elected to bowl first on a good all round wicket, with the potential of plenty of runs and wickets. Sadly the youthful county opening attack couldn’t capitalise on the flat hard wicket and soon fell prey to the aggressive batting of the Grange opening batsmen. After an untidy opening spell from Neil Ramsay, who struggled to find his usual line, length and pace, it was left to skipper Tipu Sultan to make an attempt to staunch the flow of runs from the park end. Sultan was joined by David Henderson from the pavilion end. This partnership slowed the Grange run rate for a short time but the lightning outfield made it hard going for the counties older (and younger) fielders. Eventually Sultan claimed the first wicket of the day as Brian Kaczinsky nicked the ball through to Keeper McAlpine for thirty eight and sportingly walked. This brought Ed Duboulay to the crease, he and Brian Kernaghan quickly set about building a partnership which totalled almost two hundred runs. The Partnership was eventually broken when Kernaghan holed out to Sultan, caught at mid-wicket by Auranzeb Alangir. The next batsman, Danny Thain, was the victim of Matthew Booth who gained a hard fought LBW decision, on what was, otherwise, a luckless day for the county bowling attack. With the close of the first innings Clackmannan were faced with chasing a daunting total of 308 for 3 wickets.

After tea, the Clackmannan openers Neil Ramsay and Mark McAlpine took on the task of chasing the target of over three hundred. But with only three runs on the board, a return to the pavilion was organised for Ramsay, caught at midwicket, after a misjudged "guide over the fielders head", went pear shaped. A disappointing result, after the youngsters hard fought hundred the previous week. Following directly after Ramsay, McAlpine, attempting the same shot but, nowhere near the ball, was clean bowled by Scott. This left Tipu Sultan and Alan Oliver with all the work to do. Sultan set about the task with his usual determination smashing his first ball for four. Oliver was unfortunate, however, to fall foul of arguably the best ball of the day, clean bowled by a perfect middle stump Yorker for one run. Next in came Jeff Thomas who, still struggling with injury, was dismissed for naught trapped LBW. Matthew Booth, having been advanced up the order to steady the ship, stayed with his skipper long enough for Sultan to advance his score to twelve before being caught behind trying to "push the fielders out to the boundary"!! Auranzeb Alangir came to the crease, and applied himself to the task ahead, exhibiting a good level headed technique the junior played with little sign of being dismissed. Booth, sensing his responsibility as the senior player, took charge, the run scoring worked well, but Booth soon fell attempting one of the more cavalier shot in his repertoire. This heralded the entrance for Graham Oliver, who at thirteen years of age, took little time in setting the Grange spinners to the Sword, scoring freely all around the wicket. The two county juniors set about building a respectable partnership and gave the seniors a lesson in batting to their strengths. Alangir was first to fall, sadly, after finding the boundary, he found himself in the pavilion having been bowled for four. Next to support Oliver, was the experienced David Henderson who helped the young all rounder reach a total of eighteen. Oliver was then caught out after playing an ambitious sweep to the leg side. Twelve year old Dan Smith joined Henderson but on the second ball he faced was stumped for zero. The Injured Scott Malcomson joined the fray and smashed a sparkling four before Henderson was caught and bowled by Kaczinsky to close the innings.
Play closed, the inexperienced, home grown players of Clackmannan County Cricket Club struggled to sixty eight for nine against the more experienced Grange 3 team. Falling two hundred and forty runs short of the Grange total, dismissed in 27.2 overs, not a good day for the Clackmannan side. The youngsters must chalk this game up to experience, playing a much better side.